chorkiereader

Every year on September 11, we remember a horrific event that happened to Americans, both native born and naturalized, and to those working in the United States sharing their knowledge and commitment to improve America. Although there have been other moments that changed American in many ways, both good and bad, this one morning was seen around the world as it was happening. No one ever imagined that such events were possible. But, it happened. Like other events in American history, those of us who were old enough to remember will never forget where we were at those terrifying moments. We will always grieve for those innocent people who were lost by such a horrendous act of terror.

 Unfortunately, for me personally, I will always remember September 11^th as the day after my daughter’s birthday. Birthdays become those days that just kind of blend in with the year as a day that reminds us we become a year older. However, in my daughter’s case, September 10^th is carved, molded, and burned on my heart. I know that I would never forget that day, but in this case, there are unusual circumstances that make this date indelible to me.

 On September 10, 1999, Katherine Marie Morgan became the age of an adult, age 18. But, in her case, it wasn’t a day where I could go out and buy her a car or any other tangible gift that she would scream, cry, and be overjoyed. Katie, as I nicknamed her, contracted cardiac-myopathy the previous fall. She was admitted to the Medical University of South Carolina two days after Christmas. Katie was a senior in high school with all the dreams and excitement of her senior year.  She was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit. I remember that night well because before the night was over, another teenager was admitted with a brain injury from hitting his head on a railroad tie. He wasn’t expected to make it. I can remember thinking how sad I felt for that family because it was a brain injury. I was naïve to believe that Katie would be fine because she was in the best hospital with the best doctors. I guess God didn’t see it like I did.

 With time, the other child came around. Unfortunately, time was not on Katie’s side. For three weeks, the hospital became my home. I ate in the hospital cafeteria, slept at the Ronald McDonald house, and spent the remainder of my time in the ICU waiting room or beside my daughter. I have always been strong just because it was expected of me even though inside I may have been crumbling.

 From my simple understanding, cardiac-myopathy causes fluid to develop around the heart and lungs so much that a person has difficulty breathing. Inevitably, some critical event would happen. I had to call the rest of the family to Charleston. I got to the place I dreaded a Friday to come. These critical events would cause her to be put on the ventilator because she just couldn’t breathe on her own. Then, alone, I would spend the rest of that week wondering if she was going to be able to be taken off the ventilator. When she was off the ventilator, we would talk. I will never forget when she told me that she had a dream that God wanted her. Then she would look at me and ask, “Am I going to die?” I sincerely hope that no parent has to listen to that question from their child.

 When she didn’t improve with medication, she was put on the heart transplant list. We had gone through the other options, and a heart transplant was our only chance. I couldn’t pray for someone else to die, but I could pray that God would bring us a heart that would save this so young life. That third Friday afternoon something happened while I was out of her room in the ICU. She went into cardiac arrest. Standing in the hallway outside those big doors, not knowing whether the doctors were going to come out and say that she was back, or trying not to think the worst. There had been indescribable moments, but this time seemed to drag on forever and ever.

 She did make it through, but because there was some question about how long she was without oxygen, we didn’t know what her condition was. I immediately went back to the chapel where I had spent a lot of time over the past 23 days. I remember a black notebook where you could write whatever you wanted. I wrote many requests to God over the past weeks, but this request was for life or death because the only thing that could save her was a heart transplant.

 I will never forget that evening. After things had calmed down, I was allowed to sit in her room again. I started noticing people moving in and out of her room – more than usual – but no one would say much to me. Finally, I realized that something major was going on. I couldn’t get anyone to tell me anything, but I finally looked straight in the eyes of her nurse and asked if they had a heart. She didn’t say a word, but I knew the answer.

 Ironically, when Katie was born she was diagnosed with a Tetralogy of Fallot which is a heart defect. She had a narrowed pulmonary artery and a hole between the two ventricles. Her heart defects were fixed when she was 2. Her cardiologist was Dr. Ashby Taylor and her surgeon was Dr. Robert Slade. God does work in mysterious ways. When we arrived, Dr. Taylor was in the hospital. Dr. Slade, who no longer performed surgeries, was the doctor who went and harvested the heart that was going to be placed in my daughter. We had the best! Whatever the outcome, I knew I could not ask for better doctors.

The surgery started around 4:00 am on January 16, 1999. She came out of surgery around 1:00 pm. It was a Sunday.  She came through the surgery very well and the heart was functioning although she was still on the ventilator. Wanting the best, I felt we could deal with a heart transplant as long as I had my daughter.

I wish I could say that all went well and she will be 31 today, 9/10. But as my heart is crying now, it wasn’t to be. She came off the ventilator, but there was severe brain damage from the cardiac arrest. God gave me my baby Katie back. I truly feel that he knew that I just was not ready to let her go completely.

 With a heart transplant, we were required to stay in town for three months because she had to have a heart cauterization every week for the first month, then every other week the second month, and then every month after that. The hospital allowed me to have a roll away bed in her room. She could breathe on her own, but she had to have a stomach tube where she was fed and medicine was dispensed. Before we could come home, I had to learn to handle her from the bed to the wheelchair, to draw up her meds in syringes, to give her shots, and anything else because she could not tell me. I was graced with the joy of having my baby back. 

 That June, Katherine Marie Morgan graduated from high school.  She had missed half a year, but she had enough credits to graduate. It was very hard to see the faces of her friends at graduation that had not seen her. Being kids, they were unprepared to see the physical changes in her. But, her father proudly pushed her wheelchair across that football field to receive her diploma.

 Her birthday, September 10,, 1999, was special that year because I did not know that we would make it that long. It was a happy experience. I took her back to where she grew up.  Close family and friends shared that day with us.

 We had finally settled into a routine. I had gone back to my job. I had transformed the living room into her room. She had sitters around the clock. We had all the equipment we needed. I spent about an hour each night drawing up her medications into the syringes. Things seemed to be going fairly smooth.

 That was until I started having trouble with her night sitter not being able to come. I had to stay up to give her meds and feed her through the tube and then teach. I cannot explain how tired and exhausted I was. Even when I had relief, I felt that load of responsibility. I would not have had it any other way, but it was constant.

 That was until midnight of September 22, 1999. Her caregiver came and woke me up. She said that Katie has aspirated. Until 911 arrived, she performed CPR. I was just in a stupor.  After she was stabilized, they loaded her into the ambulance. I rode in the second one, followed by my caregiver. She seemed to be completely stabilized in the hospital. I even talked with the receiving hospital because they were going to medivac her by helicopter.

 I kissed her and told her that I would be there as soon as possible. I watched them take-off. I went home and grabbed clothes. She had aspirated before so I thought that this was just another episode. While I was packing, the phone rang. When I picked it up, it was Dr. Taylor (yes, the one from earlier in my story) on the phone. He proceeded to tell me that she had coded twice on the helicopter, and by the time they arrived, she was gone.

 Gone. Not coming back. Even then, God was looking out for us because my friend, the chaplain from the hospital, stayed with Katie until plans could be made.

 This year marks the eleventh year since her death. I know that I am not the first parent to lose a child and I will not be the last. But, when it happens to you, it changes your life forever. Any death of a family member is terrible, but the death of a child is something you never get over. I know that God had a purpose for Katie and I have to accept that it was and is God’s will. I will never get over her death, but I work daily to get used to it.

Like all Americans who will remember September 11, 2001, I will always remember. The years since these events do not matter. I am sure that it will always be an open wound for all Americans and for me personally, for a different, but yet, similar reason. It will be a hole in my soul that is only comforted now and then.

I realize that I have exposed my heart, but have not talked about all of the people and family who helped me through that time. But, I sincerely appreciate the love they have given me through the years. My son married a wonderful girl and they now have a beautiful baby boy who has my heart. I am blessed, but I live each day as God has given me. We cannot go back, but we must live each day accordingly. Life is good.

Loving historical fiction, I was excited when I was asked to be on the June blog tour for a book that takes place during the Revolutionary War period.  I was especially excited to read a book by Jerome Charyn,

Jerome Charyn (born May 13, 1937) is an award-winning American author. With nearly 50 published works, Charyn has earned a long-standing reputation as an inventive and prolific chronicler of real and imagined American life. Michael Chabon calls him “one of the most important writers in American literature.”
New York Newsday hailed Charyn as “a contemporary American Balzac,” and the Los Angeles Times described him as “absolutely unique among American writers.”

Since the 1964 release of Charyn’s first novel, Once Upon a Droshky, he has published 30 novels, three memoirs, eight graphic novels, two books about film, short stories, plays and works of non-fiction. Two of his memoirs were named New York Times Book of the Year. Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and has been named Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Charyn was Distinguished Professor of Film Studies at the American University of Paris until he left teaching in 2009.

In addition to his writing and teaching, Charyn is a tournament table tennis player, once ranked in the top 10 percent of players in France. Noted novelist Don DeLillo called Charyn’s book on table tennis, Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins, "The Sun Also Rises of ping-pong." Charyn lives in Paris and New York City.

What I did not realize how different historical fiction can be twisted into a tale in which the characters that we all know, love, and respect could possibly be involved in anything other than something that was honest, respectable, and patriotic. That was until I met Charyn’s Johnny One-Eye.

Johnny One-Eye brings about the rediscovery of one of the most "singular and remarkable [careers] in American literature" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World). In this picaresque tour de force that reanimates Revolutionary Manhattan through the story of double agent John Stocking, the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington, Jerome Charyn has given us one of the most memorable historical novels in years. As Johnny seeks to unlock the mystery of his birth and grapples with his allegiances, he falls in love with Clara, a gorgeous, green-eyed octoroon, the most coveted harlot of Gertrude's house. The wild parade of characters he encounters includes Benedict Arnold, the Howe brothers, "Sir Billy" and "Black Dick," and a manipulative Alexander Hamilton.

For me, Johnny One-Eye made my imagination go to places that I never would have dreamed was possible. After all, George Washington, the Father of our Country, could not have possibly be anything but noble at all times. My idyllic eyes had never ever suspected in my imagination that he could possibly be just a person. Charyn’s book made me see beyond the normal box of expectations of reading historical fiction. He challenged my thoughts to realize that these men we have read about all our lives could possibly be adventurous, witty, and devious. The discovery that men such as Washington, Hamilton, and others could have alluring, devious minds peaked my interest so that I had difficulty putting it down at times.

Published in 2008, Johnny One-Eye will entertain and enable the reader to think beyond that there could have been a more inventive history of the Revolutionary War than is recorded in our textbooks. Johnny One-Eye is available in hardback and paperback.
Blog Tour web site:http://johnnyoneeye.blogspot.com/
Jerome Charyn's web site:http://www.jeromecharyn.com/
Jerome Charyn's Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#!/jerome.charyn
Jerome Charyn's Twitter:http://twitter.com/jeromecharyn
Johnny One-Eye Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/JohnnyOneEyeBook
W.W. Norton & Company web site:http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=11950

How would you react if your mother dies, your father is killed in a car wreck, and you are left to live with a grumpy grandfather who continually says that he is trying to stop drinking. Travis Roberts is left, not with the doting grandfather, but with a grandfather who seems to reluctant to accept his role as the model parent. The only thing in Travis’s life is his dog, Rasco.

When Grandpa abruptly loses his job, they must move away from everything Travis has ever known. He isn’t a happy camper about the move, but what hurts worse, is that Rasco suddenly disappears.

The new town is similar to the old one. Grandpa goes to work and Travis goes to school.  At his new school he meets up with Velvetta, a girl who has grown up in the town, and Bradley, a smart student who doesn’t have many friends.

The three become friends. There seems to be a mystery about Velvetta’s life. She isn’t forthcoming with any specific information either. Bradley seems to be the brunt of the town’s tough guys although they attempt their “tough guy” act on the new student, Travis.

Throughout the book, the author reveals the individual difficulties of these three characters. Travis has fooled or attempted to fool all his teachers. I would call him a non-reader although he seems to have managed for years. Velvetta, comes from a dysfunctional family, but has the internal motivation to complete all her assignments. Bradley, appears to have all the things a teen would want, but lacks any lasting friendships. This group bonds together to the benefit of all.

Outside of the evolution of their friendships, Travis has an additional problem. He seems to have bluffed his way through school without doing homework. But, things change when his English teacher confronts him about his non-reader status.

As a teacher, the author brought in through Travis’s character a problem confronts all teachers. The way his teacher handled the situation enabled Travis to maintain his dignity as well as encourage him to finally learn to read. Who know what effect this part of the book might have on a reluctant reader in the future.

Throughout reading the book, I kept wondering when the blue fish was going to make an appearance. I was pleasantly surprised when the author revealed the reference to Dr. Seus’s book, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Anyone who remembers bluebirds and redbirds will understand.

This book will definitely appeal to all middle grades, both boys and girls. It has something for everyone.

 Author            Pat Schmatz
Copyright       2011
Publisher       Candlewick Press
Ebook provided by Candlewick Press via NetGalley

Congratulations to Kevin Henkes! His new book, Junonia, is the story of Alice who journeys every year from Wisconsin to Florida for vacation in winter. I can so identify with Alice because my parents would always haul me during Christmas to Florida. Like me, Alice is an only child. Her parents always rent a beach house in Scallop. They have done it so often that they meet up with the same people year after year. Kevin must have spied on my childhood.

This year, while they are there, Alice will turn ten years old. She has specific things that she wants to happen on her birthday. The most important thing is she wishes she could find a special shell called a Junonia. Other things she wants is a cookout with the neighbors, a big cake, and a pie.

The neighbors that gather yearly vary from an older man, Mr. Barden, who wonders from year to year if he is going to be there the next year, to a couple who live there year round. Added to the mix is a single lady, Kate, who has a new boyfriend with a little girl, named Mallory and her doll, Munchkey.  Missing from this year’s mix is Helen, who is snowed in in New York City.

Mallory, whose mother has moved to Europe, appears to idolize Alice, as most little girls would do. Alice, who received all of Kate’s attention in previous years, tries to not allow the fact that she must share Kate with Mallory to interfere with the vacation.

In the opening pages of the book, there is a two page spread of sea shells. In my trips to the beach, I picked up seashells, but didn’t ever take the time to find out what kind they were. After reading Junonia I am encouraged to find out the names of seashells. I believe that a child who reads this book will develop a curiosity of identifying their own seashells.

Although Alice talks a lot about what her birthday is going be like, her real wish is to find the Junonia. Even when her parents make a special design out of shells, she still yearns for that special shell.

Alice’s birthday party seems to go well until there is a phone call that disrupts Mallory and her father. After they leave, Alice misses one of her birthday surprises from Helen and immediately blames Mallory.

In the end, Alice learns that things are not always what they seem and that a grumpy old man can be gentle and caring.

Junonia is a delightful read, appealing to middle and upper elementary students. Reading this book will feed a child’s curiosity on his next trip to the beach and will seek out non-fiction books that relate to shells.

Junonia joins Henkes’s other enjoyable books such as Olive’s Ocean, Return to Sender, Bird Lake Moon, and The Zebra Wall.

Author             Kevin Henkes
Copyright       2011
Imprint            Greenwillow Books
Publisher       Harper Collins Publishers
Source          Permission granted from the publisher via @NetGalley


 

I adore middle elementary chapter books because they give readers, who are so ready to challenge their reading understanding a little further, the opportunity to grow. I just finished JUST GRACE AND THE DOUBLE SURPRISE, which was the second in the series of JUST GRACE that I have read. The first book, JUST GRACE AND THE TUTU, was adorable.

Charise Harper continues in another Just Grace book with Grace and her friend, Mimi. They are both excited because they are waiting for Mimi’s parents to adopt a girl.  However, Grace and Mimi have many other adventures before the child finally arrives.

The neat thing about Harper’s series is that she includes the simplest drawings with cartoon balloons that depict what Grace is saying or thinking. Grace shares her thoughts through these drawings throughout the book. 

After school one day, she and her father take a surprise trip. Grace tries to anticipate where they are going, but when they arrive at the animal shelter, she becomes so excited. They decide on a dog named Mr. Scrufflers. Grace has a big problem because Mr.  Scrufflers is a girl. Grace cannot accept her name so she attempts to rename the dog but without success. Finally, she realizes that Mr. Scrufflers is happy with her name and is only going to respond to that name. When she wants to go show Mimi her surprise, she realizes that Mimi’s family is gone. Grace thinks that they must be gone to get the new little sister. As Grace likes to do, she thinks about what she should do to welcome the little sister. She makes her a book.

When Mimi’s family arrives home, Grace goes across the street, without Mr. Scrufflers as commanded by her mother. Mimi’s mother tells her that Mimi is in her room. Grace, as well as Mimi, have another surprise. What was supposed to be a little girl is a four year old boy named Robert. Mimi has no clue what she is going to do with a little brother.

Grace, as Grace always does, starts to analyze the situation and attempts to help Mimi adjust to the situation just as she has adjusted to her dog being named Mr. Scrufflers. The double trouble works out in the end.

The Just Grace books have no identified chapter titles. There are titles whenever Grace decides to change what she is talking about. Her handwritten block letters tell the reader what to expect in the section. The reader doesn’t have to worry about where to start and stop. Instead of looking to see how many pages are in a chapter as children seem to do, there is no threat that the student has X many pages left before the end of the chapter.  For those readers who may have a little difficulty with the written words, the caricatures help explain what Grace means. Plus, the simplicity enables the reader to identify with Grace.

JUST GRACE AND THE DOUBLE SURPRISE
Author            Charise Mericle Harper                                                                  
Publisher       Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright       2011
Pub Date       8/1/11
Read ereader provided via @netgalley from publisher

One reason I choose to blog is to learn new things that I probably would never be exposed to in any other way.

IThe Many Faces of George Washington by Carla Killough McCafferty is a biography of the life of George Washington. However, the more fascinating things I discovered in this book was the telling of the enormous task funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to recreate life size creations of surveyor George at age nineteen, George at age 45 when he was Commander of the American troops during the American Revolution, and the older George as he was inaugurated the first President of the United States at age 57. The foundation established the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center on the grounds of Mount Vernon.  

First, I want to bring some unknown facts to light.

1. George Washington suffered from small pox as a young man which caused his face to be scarred for the rest of his life.
2. He kept a journal from the time he was a young man throughout his life.
3. George Washington did not have wooden teeth. His teeth fell out because of gum disease. His upper denture plate was made from hippopotamus ivory with the actual teeth from cattle and horses. His lower denture had a hole in to allow his one tooth that was left to come through the denture. His lower denture was made from human teeth.
4. He kept a very rigid schedule, getting up before 5:00 am and going to bed at 9:00 pm.
5. Mount Vernon was originally owned by his half brother, Lawrence, who died.

The Mount Vernon’s Ladies Association that owns Mount Vernon and surrounding areas decided that the image of George Washington presented him as a stiff and harsh looking man. Those images through statues, paintings, and busts all portray him as that rough man. After receiving a grant from the Reynolds Foundation, using the new laser techniques available to scientists to re-create true images, groups of scientists, artists, scholars, tailors, taxidermists, and craftspeople of all sorts set out to create a true likeness of George Washington at age nineteen, forty-five, and fifty-seven. The likenesses included more than just a bust of Washington. The re-created figures are life-size, authentic of Washington as a surveyor, general, and president.

The book intertwines the historical perspective along with the scientific reconstruction into an extremely interesting blend of how everything was researched, planned, and executed for authenticity. The process is absolutely amazing and detailed.  The re-creation process through actual pictures, the historical documentation, and other denotations add so much to the book.

Visiting the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center enable visitors to learn so much more than just a tour through Mount Vernon.

Author            Carla Killogh McClafferty

Imprint            Carolrhonda Books

                        Lerner Publishing Group

Copyright       2011

Ebook provided via NetGalley from publisher